Nov 18, 2010

In contrast with its claims in recent months that it is part of the state of Israel and should be treated as such, the municipal government of the settlement of Ariel has been shown to have argued the exact opposite, in 2001, in order to avoid paying VAT (value added tax) taxes to the state.

The documents uncovered by Israeli reporters with the Ha'aretz newspaper show that Ariel's leaders filed a petition to the Israeli government in 2001 demanding the return of past VAT taxes, claiming that since Ariel was not a part of Israel, it did not have to pay these taxes.